Growing broad beans this season? Here's two ways to use them.

I am well aware that broad beans are an acquired taste, and not everyone's cup of tea.

A bit like Brussels sprouts really. Both can be cooked up in the same way. If I had the choice, I'd choose broad beans, hands down.

Broad beans are easy, they are not fussy and easy as to grow.

At the start of Spring, choose a patch (a metre by a metre). Dig it over and sow some seed(about 12-16 seeds). You will soon be rewarded with loads of yummy beans.


1. Broad bean and bacon creamy pasta.

Boil up two cups of pasta shapes( I used curly macaroni here), in the last couple of minutes, add a cup of shelled broad beans. If they are large and older broad beans, you may have to peel the beans (once cooked), as the skins are usually tough and chewy.

While the pasta is cooking, fry off the bacon. Add the garlic and stir, add the cream and simmer for a few minutes until the cream starts to thicken. At this point add salt and pepper.

Add the pasta to the cream mixture, stir through and serve with a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese, if liked. One of my girls loves the stuff and won't eat pasta without it. 

2. Broad bean and bacon fry up.

This is one of my favourite broad bean side dishes, as it takes no time and is ready in a flash, and Oh. So. Tasty.

Slice a small onion, a few rashers of bacon and cook them on a medium heat until the onion is soft.
Add two cups of cooked broad beans and stir until combined and the beans have warmed through.

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Broccoli and stilton soup

You can beat finding absolute bargains at the supermarket. While doing my last big shop, I bought two packets of Stilton cheese. At their usual price they were $10.98 each, I could not leave them there for $1.10 each. They were swiftly put in the freezer upon arriving home.

Being an imperfect housewife, I still had a head of broccoli in the bottom of the fridge that was threatening to turn a lovely shade of yellow. The only thing I could think of to use it all at once, was soup.

The weather goes up and down like a yo-yo here in the south at the moment. This particular day, like today, was around 16 degrees. Yesterday it was 28! So soup is still acceptably on the menu, for me anyway. 

Izzy even had a go at the broccoli soup (without the cheese). Shock of all shocks, she enjoyed it. Win, win.

It wasn't until I was about delve into it's warmth, that I remembered the cheese in the freezer. I chopped a bit off and garnished the soup with it. It was heaven.

Stilton cheese isn't for everyone. It one of the 'blue' cheeses, or stinky cheeses and not loved by all!

I must blog my caramelised onion, stilton and rocket flatbread soon. It is delicious, so will be given a spin in the kitchen again in the near future.

Broccoli soup with Stilton cheese

1 head of broccoli, chopped, stalk and all
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 garlic clove, chopped
half and onion, or a small onion, chopped
2 bacon rashers, chopped
1 large, or two medium potatoes, chopped
about 5 cups of water

Gently fry onion, garlic and bacon in olive oil, until onion is soft.

Add broccoli and potato, then add water to just barely cover the veggies. You may not need all five cups of water. It is better to add too little, than too much, as you might end up with a watery soup. I like my soup thick. If it is too thick for your liking, you can always add a bit more water or even milk to make it a bit more creamier. The potatoes however give it a creaminess.

Bring to the boil, then simmer with the lid on for about 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are soft.

Blitz with a stick blender, or however you blitz your soup.

Serve in a bowl with a tablespoon of crumbled Stilton cheese scattered on top.

Yummo. I love the way the cheese melts through the hot soup :)

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Persian spiced veggies with lentils

I like to share my food on instagram. I just like to share my food! 

I am one of those weird people who sit down, take a photo, then proceed to eat, whilst instafaceytweeting what's on my plate.

Some people don't get it and sometimes I let that sway me. But in the end, I like to do it, so I keep posting.  I thought I would push it further and overshare here with how I make it. 

This spice mix is in my pantry. I use it to sprinkle on my veggies before I bake them for lunch some days.

Persian spice
2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoon nutmeg
2 teaspoon ground rose petals*
2 teaspoon cardamom
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon coriander

Mix all together and store in an airtight jar or plastic container in the pantry.

*I find the smelliest roses I have, take a couple of handfuls of the petals and place them on a baking tray. Dry them in a slow oven until they are dry, then crush them up. If you're not into eating your garden,  you can buy edible rose petals online or in specialty food delis, or just leave it out.

Baharat spice mix is good to use if you want instead of the persian spice.

Vegetables of choice, such as - pumpkin, sweet potato, eggplant, onion, garlic, beetroot, zucchini, capsicum. 
1 tin lentils, drained and rinsed**
half a tablespoon of persian spice
Olive oil

Chops veggies into 2cm cubes. Coat with olive oil and persian spice in a baking tray. Season with salt and pepper.

Bake in the oven at 200 for 15 - 20 minutes.

Tip and mix in a can of lentils, put back in the oven for another five minutes to warm through.

Serve as a warm salad with feta cheese and fresh herbs. I've used greek yogurt and mint in the photo above. 

**Instead of lentils, you could go in with whatever you like, brown rice, couscous, chick peas or quinoa. 

I've also made this with squash, pumpkin, sweet potato, onion and garlic. Instead of the spice blend, just used mixed dried herbs, salt, pepper and olive oil. Baked for 15 minutes, add the lentils for 5 minutes and served with greek yogurt and basil pesto. So yum!

An InLinkz Link-up

Baharat Chick pea tagine

The last time Brett and I went out for tea(without kids, which was way too long ago), we went to an Egyptian restaurant.  It was here I first learnt about Baharat spice mix. The food was delish and it began a fire in me to explore more about spices, and cooking with them. 

Baharat Spice blend
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cardamom

Stir to combine. Keep in a sealed jar or plastic container in the pantry.

I use it in casseroles, sprinkled on veggies for roasting, and in this tagine. I enjoy this for lunch every now and then. It's so tasty.

Chickpea tagine
2 tins chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 onion, chopped
2 tablespoons Baharat spice blend
1/2 roasted chilli*
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 tablespoon coriander stems, chopped

Add oil to pan on a low heat.
Add onion and simmer until transparent.
Add chilli and baharat, and cook for a minute to release flavours.
Add chickpeas, tomatoes and coriander stems to the pan.
Add enough water(about 2 cups) to cover ingredients.
Bring to the boil, reduce heat and cover. Simmer for 20 minutes.
Remove the lid and continue to cook until juices are reduced to a gravy consistency.
Garnish with some natural yogurt and fresh coriander. 
Serve.

*I used half a roasted green chilli. I am still using the ones I preserved in olive oil from last year. You could use a pinch of cayenne pepper, or a small fresh chilli, or a half a teaspoon of harissa paste.

This recipe has been adapted from the Maza gourmet foods cook book. 

   

Flatbread wraps

I make these quite a bit. I like them for salad wraps, and for a soft wrap when we have tacos.

I like my tacos in a soft wrap, the kids don't mind it either. Brett isn't happy however if he doesn't have his hard crunchy taco shells. So I serve both.

2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 cups water

Place flour and salt in a large bowl, make a well in the centre.

Mix water and oil, then tip into the flour well.

Combine to make a firm dough.

Divide the dough into 8. Roll out into thin discs, one at a time and cook for 2-3 minutes each side in a hot, dry frypan.

I also add a tablespoon of Maza zaatar spice blend or dried herbs. You could also use flavoured olive oil to add something extra to your wraps. The oil from a jar of sundried tomatoes for example.

You could use substitute one cup of flour, for wholemeal flour if you have it.

Summer loves a salad wrap for lunch

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Grilled peaches with rosemary

I have so many peaches right now. The tree is loaded and they all seem to ripen at once.

I made these grilled peaches. They are OH SO good!  

The recipe is adapted from a Jamie Oliver recipe from a magazine from a few years ago. Our local library has magazines of all sorts to borrow, so I have been taking advantage of that, I can't get enough of looking through food mags. This way I can do it for free!

The original recipe used a vanilla bean and a dash of brandy. You could use them if you have them. He suggested you serve them with crumbled biscotti and creme fraiche, which would be awesome. I think some toasted almond slivers would be nice too :)

Grilled peaches with rosemary
6 peaches, halved and stones removed
1 orange, zested and juiced
1 tsp vanilla essence
1/4 cup caster sugar
2 rosemary sprigs

Arrange the peaches in a baking dish, cut side up.

Mix the vanilla essence with the juice of an orange and pour over the peaches.

Scatter the zest and the sugar over. Lay the rosemary over the top.

Place the dish under a hot grill for 5-6 minutes or until fruit is golden and the juices are bubbling.

An InLinkz Link-up

Homemade chocolate chip muesli bars

I am so glad I had a go at making my own muesli bars. I don't know what it is, but I see the boxes of bars at the supermarket and I just can't bring myself to buy them. Maybe it's the price, or maybe it's just because I haven't had success in getting my kids to like them.

I was quite surprised my fussy eater loved these, and Brett was full of compliments about them too. I thought they were extremely tasty, and will surely be making them again. Soon! I can see that they are not going to last long. 

I am so keen to try out different ingredients, besides chocolate chips and sunflower seeds. Like apricot and almond, choc chips and chopped up dried banana, or white choc chips. As an afterthought, a tablespoon of sesame seeds probably wouldn't have gone astray in this batch. The possibilities are endless. 

You should try make some, they are yumptious scrumptious and fantastic for school lunch boxes.

4 cups rolled oats
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup dessicated coconut
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 canola oil
1/2 cup honey

Preheat oven to 160C. Line a baking tray with baking paper.

Place oats, flour, coconut, brown sugar, chocolate chips, sunflower seeds and salt in a large bowl. Mix to combine.

Whisk together the oil and honey until well combined. Add to the dry ingredients until the oats are well coated with the oil mixture.

Tip onto baking tray and mound into a rectangle, about 22 x 28 cm and 2 cm thick. I used an egg flip to help push down and flatten the top and neaten the edges.

Bake for 40 minutes, until golden.
Cool for 10 minutes on the tray, then slice into 24 bars.

Mud cake muffins

These should be called McFatty Fat cakes. Or Mudguts Muffintops. They are so good, and I ate too many *hangs head in shame*. My name is Alicia, and I am a chocoholic. As I've aged my preference has shifted to dark chocolate, probably why I love these so much.

Mud cake muffins sounds much better. 

If you're a recovering chocoholic, I suggest you call your support person. You're going to need them. With almost a whole block of wonderful dark chocolate, these muffins are irresistable.

Mud cake muffins

175 grams butter
175 grams dark chocolate, broken up 
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
3 eggs, beaten
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup plain flour, sifted with the cocoa
2 Tablespoons cocoa
1/4 cup milk

Preheat oven to 180 degrees.

Melt butter and chocolate in the microwave on 50% for 30 second increments, or in a saucepan on a medium heat.

Place chocolate mixture in a large mixing bowl. 

Add sugar and stir to dissolve the sugar to get out any lumps.

Add eggs and vanilla and beat well.

Stir in flour and cocoa, then the milk.

Place cases into a 12 hole muffin tin. Fill* cases with cake mixture and bake for 25 minutes.

I've frosted with chocolate buttercream icing and sprinkles.

*This recipe uses plain flour so the cakes will not rise in the paper cases.

Try some green icing and christmas themed sprinkles to bring these into the christmas season. (I know I may just get Batman slapped for even mentioning the C word in November)

It will be here all too soon and I am in no way prepared. What I do know, after hosting the family last year, and travelling the year before, I just want to relax and let the holidays just float by, as much as possible. No stress. NO commitments. We'll see how that pans out!

Linking with Ann for Things I know.

Chocolate creams

Chocolate Creams

125 grams butter
1/2 cup sugar
4 tablespoons milk
1 1/2 cups SR Flour
1/4 cup custard powder
2 tablespoons cocoa 

Icing
75 grams butter
3/4 cup icing sugar
1 teaspoon milk


Preheat oven to 180C.
Beat the butter and sugar until light and creamy.
Add the milk and beat to combine.
Sift the flour, custard powder, and cocoa. Add to the bowl and mix in to form a soft dough.

Roll about 2 teaspoons worth to make small balls.
Place on baking tray and press with a fork to flatten. Dip the fork in flour first, to stop it sticking to the dough.

Bake for 15 - 20 minutes.

Let the biscuits cool while you make the icing.

To make icing, beat the butter and icing sugar in a small bowl, Beat in the milk.

Spread about half a teaspoon of icing on one biscuit, and join with a biscuit of the same size.

Welcome to Open Slather #100!

I'm just a little bit chuffed that this week sees me hosting my 100th link up. Feel free to add ONE of your social media accounts, like Facebook, Twitter or Instagram to Open Slather, as well as a blog post.  I hope you all find new blogs and accounts to follow and followers for yours. :)

An InLinkz Link-up

Lime and poppy seed biscotti

I haven't been around very much lately. 

I've had good days and bad, most bad. After three weeks on the medication,  things weren't improving much. 

I saw my counsellor for the first time on Friday, two weeks too late if you ask me. All she had to do was say "Tell me about yourself", and I lost it, couldn't speak without bawling. Got some stuff off my chest though and she upped my meds. I have felt a big change over the weekend.

It always seems these sorts of things happen when the people we need around, are out of town. Like Murphy's Law. One of those people is my sister. She's living the good life, travelling and seeing the sights in Ireland, with her boyfriend, in a Wicked van. I am loving seeing the photos she posts on Facey, she's having the time of her life, and it is much deserved.

Anyway before she left she said if I wanted limes, her tree had heaps. Saturday I ducked in and picked some. This is what I made using three of them.


Lime and Poppy seed biscotti

120 grams butter
2/3 cup sugar
1 Tablespoon lime zest (close enough is good enough)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 Tablespoons lime juice
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
2 eggs, beaten
2 cups flour
1 Tablespoon poppy seeds

Preheat oven to 180C.

Beat together butter, sugar, salt, baking powder and zest.

Add eggs, lemon juice and vanilla. Mix to combine.

Mix in flour and poppy seeds.

Divide the soft dough into half and make two logs, about 3 cm high and 5cm wide. Transfer to a greased and floured tray.

Bake for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for 25 minutes. Reduce the oven to 160C.

Cut the logs into 1 cm thick slices. Place on tray and bake for 30 minutes, turning once halfway through.

Let cool. Place in an airtight container. 

If you value your waistline, seal with three layers and duct tape, hide and forget you ever made them. They are so delicious! Or eat a few and make you friends very happy by giving them some.

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Orange, coconut and cardamom biscuits

Occasionally, well often, the biscuit barrel is bare. If it happens before our next big shopping day, we bake.

The last time it happened we made chocolate biscuits, and used up the cocoa. I must buy more.

I looked for what we had, and that was three oranges in the fruit bowl. I could use the zest. I looked for an easy recipe, I always look for the easiest recipe. I found one and decided to add some extras I had in the pantry.

I like these biscuits. I like that Izzy can help by rolling the dough in balls herself, even though at least three or four biscuits worth of dough go missing in her mouth. But isn't that the best bit for kids in the biscuit making process? She would have eaten the lot if I let her.

3/4 cup Self Raising Flour
100 gr butter or marg
1/4 cup caster sugar
zest of an orange
1/4 cup dessicated coconut
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom 

Preheat oven to 180C.

Place all ingredients in a bowl.
Rub together with your fingers and form into a soft dough.
Roll into small balls, you should have about 24.
Place on a greased baking tray and lightly press with a fork.

Bake at 180C for 10 minutes.

Flogging this recipe at With some grace

Papaya Marinated steak w/ papaya salad

This may sound like a papaya overload, but it's not. There's other flavours going on, and if you didn't know the marinade had papaya in it, you wouldn't realise.

Little Summer loved the papaya raw, couldn't get enough. Izzy is my fussy, nose screwer upper and wouldn't have a bar of it. She did eat the marinated steak though.

I actually like eating the raw red papaya as my morning fruit. They are packed with vitamins and minerals. So good for you. 

I use the peels on my face. The flesh is actually really great at getting rid of dead skin and healing, I love how it improves my complexion. 

Papaya contains an enzyme called Papain that breaks down protein. So it works well as a marinade on tougher cuts of meat. I used rump steak in this instance, but I've also used the marinade with pork fillet and it was awesome. 

You'll need half a red papaya, which will cost you from $2.50 to $3. I was surprised it was so cheap, considering it is a tropical fruit. 

This recipe also uses kaffir lime leaves. If you aren't lucky enough to know someone with a tree, you can buy them in the herb section of the supermarket. It freezes really well so I doesn't go to waste. I just pull out the leaves I need, when I need.

Papaya marinade
1 kaffir lime leaf, sliced thinly
1/4 red papaya, mashed with a fork
1/2 teaspoon chinese 5 spice
1 garlic clove, crushed
1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
1/4 teaspoon chilli oil
1 Tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon brown sugar

Mix together. Pour and massage into 500 grams(or up to 1 kg) of rump steak.

Leave for 1/2 hour to 1 hour.

Take steak out of marinade and grill as you normally would. Serve with salad.

Papaya and avocado salad
1 spring onion, sliced
1/4 papaya, sliced
1/2 avocado, sliced
1/4 capsicum, sliced
1 kaffir lime leaf, sliced thinly
1 Tablespoon toasted pine nuts 

Place all in a bowl and gently toss together.

Dressing
1 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp olive oil
1/8 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp brown sugar

Mix all together and drizzle over salad.

An InLinkz Link-up

Two condiments for an Indian meal

Last weekend we lobbed at my sister in laws for an Indian potluck. As usual I get ambitious and take the whole deal, meat, veggies and the condiments. 

I arrived with two tandoori chickens, mixed vegetables and the accompanying bells and whistles to any Indian feast, chutney and raita.

I'd only had real takeaway Indian food a few weeks before. What I know is, Indian food is delicious. I also know everyone left the potluck as full as googs. Some people squeezed in dessert, I don't know how they managed it. I know there was a lot of moaning and groaning after that point about how full they were. Some even stopped drinking(sacrilege, I know) because they were so full. 

I know I was the designated driver, so I wasn't drinking after the vodka, mango and ginger welcoming cocktail(traditional Indian so I was told). How could I refuse. Oh, and that glass of white wine. 

I didn't go dessert, but I know I woke up still full the next morning. Two mandarins did me for breaky.

 Indian Pineapple Chutney
1 x 825 gram can of pineapple pieces in natural juice
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1/4 teaspoon brown mustard seeds
1 tablespoon sultanas
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 Tablespoon vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon cornflour

Drain can of pineapple, keeping the juice.
Heat vegetable oil, add mustard seeds. When the seeds start to pop, add pineapple pieces, cumin and coriander. Fry for 5 minutes.
Add pineapple juice, sultanas, salt, sugar,and vinegar and heat until simmering.
Mix water with cornflour. Add to chutney until it thickens.
Place chutney in serving dish, or warm sterilised jar, and cool.

Indian Raita
1 cup  greek yoghurt
1 cup chopped, seeded cucumber
2 tablespoons chopped fresh coriander
2 teaspoons chopped spring onion
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

Mix all together. Season with salt. Place in a serving dish and chill.

Flogging the blog with Grace at With Some Grace

Sweet potato pizza

I made this yummy pizza when my sister and her partner were coming for dinner, I cut this up for pre dinner nibbles. Well, they were unfashionably late and by the time they did arrive I'd put the lasagna on the table and we tucked into that. They didn't even touch it! I was a bit annoyed because it tasted bloody good!

Anyway I made it again for my lunch a few days later. I really like it.

Wholemeal pizza dough
7g(two teaspoons) dry yeast 
1 teaspoon sugar
3/4 cup warm water
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups wholemeal flour
1 teaspoon salt

Place yeast, sugar and water in a small bowl. Lightly mix with a fork and set aside for 10 minutes until frothy.

Put flour in a large bowl, with the salt. Add the yeast mix and olive oil to the flour and mix with a wooden spoon until dough comes together.

Knead for 5 minutes, then put back into the large bowl, cover with a tea towel and sit in a warm place for 1 hour, or until doubled in size.

Knock down the dough with your fist and divide into four portions.

Roll out on a floured surface and place on an oiled tray.

Pizza topping
1 medium sweet potato, peeled and sliced into 5mm thick rounds.
Olive Oil
Poppy seeds
Rosemary leaves and Rosemary flowers(if you have them)
Mixed greens - e.g. rocket, beet leaves, spinach
feta or goats cheese(optional)

Oil a baking tray, place sweet potato rounds in one layer. Loosely cover with foil and bake in a 180C oven for 10 minutes.

Brush some olive oil(I used garlic oil) on the pizza base. Lightly sprinkle poppy seeds and about 1 tablespoon of rosemary leaves.

Lay sweet potato rounds on base and then drizzle with olive oil.

Bake for 15 minutes at 230C.

When cooked, cut into slices and scatter mixed greens over and some cheese if using. Garnish with the rosemary flowers.

Sharing this recipe at Little Wolff blog for Little Veggie Kitchen

The thing I now know

I always knew I wanted to be just like my mum.

I now know it wasn't to have a tribe of kids. Three keep me busy enough. The worry, the guilt, the days when I could no longer stand to hear them fighting or yell out 'mum' one more time.

As Mum put it over the weekend(and now I am older, with my own kids, I totally get it), "You kids were a mob of arseholes. But I love you all and wouldn't have had it any other way."

Besides the tribe of kids, Mum had 5 under six by the time she was 24, I remember she was always cooking something. Well she had to I suppose, all we'd all starve!

Bread, biscuits, cakes, soups, roasts, scones, even the jam! I realise now, this is why I wanted to be like mum.

I find myself now loving to cook for my family and friends. I am by no means a master chef, but I love testing out cooking new cuisines, flavours and trying new ingredients. If only my kids enjoyed eating it!

This blog from the outset has included recipes. Not fancy, flash or fantastic. Just humble, good, simple tasting food. I love to share it, love to see people enjoying it.

I dream of buying a garden, ready established, with a spacious cottage. A cottage with an open fire, where after walking around the garden patrons would sit and enjoy simple, tasty, comforting food and hospitality.

I would also just about have to win x-lotto for this to happen.

They say don't let go of your dreams, work towards them. I won't be racing towards my dream. I will dawdle along, enjoy my gardening, and cooking for family and friends, because I never know what could be around the corner.